15Jan 2024 by Post

The Pulpit Apologist, Pt. 2

Apologetics, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Gospel, James Sire, Local church, pastors, Practical Apologetics, Theology and Christian Apologetics
In my previous blog, I briefly unpacked five ways apologetic preaching can help the church navigate these challenging times, while also sharing four of eight points of what it looks like to apologetically equip our congregations today. In this post, I’ll briefly unpack points five through eight before concluding with a few final thoughts. That said, if we’re going to apologetically equip our churches, here’s how we can do that. Fifth, set an apologetic tone that is humble and refuse to be a bully from the pulpit. Sadly, many pastors have used this humility as an excuse to avoid apologetics altogether. But that would be throwing the baby out with the bath water. We can’t detach our pulpit presentation from our personal character. Apologetics in preaching is important, but we…
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08Jan 2024 by Post

What Does it Mean to be “Legalistic?”

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, King James Only, Legalism, Melissa Dougherty, Sola Gracia, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Works-based salvation
Legalism. What do you think of when you hear this word? Some people might think of someone who is a stick in the mud. Maybe even someone who relies on the Bible too much instead of following their hearts. Some might think of a strict religion with lots of rules. Others say it’s a “spirit” of criticism and division. I believe one of the best ways to define legalism is as follows: Legalism entails the establishment of man-made rules and traditions as the benchmark for what is considered holy and right. This is precisely what the Pharisees did, imposing an unattainable burden where almost every action and word is deemed wrong and sinful by these standards. For example, I remember someone giving me an earful when I decided to place…
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03Jan 2024 by Post

Are Today’s Christians Confused About the Gospel?

Apologetics, Christianity, Evangelism, Francis of Assisi, Gospel, Her Faith Inspires, Preaching, salvation, Shanda Fulbright, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Works-Based Religion
A few weeks ago, I created a post that said, “I love apologetics but apologetics is not the gospel.” It wasn’t controversial at all. Just kidding. Come on! We’re talking about social media; the breeding ground of controversy. As a teacher, I often look for the underlying cause of a misunderstanding. I ask myself, “What is the foundational aspect of this message and why didn’t the reader ‘get it’”? With the so-called controversial post about apologetics and the gospel, it became more and more clear that the reader didn’t understand the word “gospel.” A Simple Question So, I created a survey that asked, “What is the gospel?” I got a varying degree of answers that included: Sharing the gospel is praying for someone. Sharing the gospel is sharing my testimony.…
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01Jan 2024 by Post

The Pulpit Apologist, Pt. 1

Apologetics, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Church, Culture Apologetics, Gospel, pastors, Theology and Christian Apologetics
If apologetics has ever met its moment in our culture that moment is now. And it’s especially urgent for some good old-fashioned pulpit apologetics. We need preachers to rise to the occasion and equip their flocks with the apologetic know-how to reach this confused and collapsing culture. As the great wordsmith Carl Trueman put it: “Every age has had its darkness and its dangers. The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.” [1] It’s no secret that ours is a country replete with problems, so much so it’s even harder to imagine a real United States again. And like those ancient Corinthians many in the church have joined the cultural…
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20Dec 2023 by Post

Making Sense of Christmas

3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Bobby Conway, christian, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Christmas, Culture, faith, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Miracle of Christmas, Theology and Christian Apologetics, truth
The Christmas season has a way of quickening the senses, doesn’t it? The taste of a kiss under a mistletoe tree, the flavor of nursing steamed Ghirardelli hot chocolate, or the sheer ecstasy of biting into that freshly made batch of flaky peanut brittle. Then there are the smells. Oh, the smells. The smell of Gingerbread houses, hot caramel apple pie, and the dreaded Turkish Delight. We cannot forget the sounds. The sounds of Christmas carolers, holiday bells and our favorite seasonal hymns and not so favorite ones too, like, Last Christmas. It’s also a sight fest. The sight of homes bedecked with multi-colored lights, lawns graced by nativity scenes, and Salvation Army volunteers ringing their bells for coins in the coffer. And of course, we cannot forget the touch…
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18Dec 2023 by Post

Is Christmas Pagan?

3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Christianity, Christmas, Culture, faith, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Melissa Dougherty, Miracle of Christmas, Theology and Christian Apologetics, truth
Tree decorating. Repetitive Christmas music on the radio. Sleigh bells ringing. Chestnuts burning. (Like, what does this even mean? Do people actually do this?) And the incessant cyber throat-punching over Christians who celebrate Christmas are actually celebrating an evil pagan holiday. Ah… it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is that magical time of the year again, full of bright lights, joyful music, and the warm and fuzzy feelings of family and gift-giving. But every so often, you might hear a claim tossed around that Christmas is rooted in pagan traditions. There are many people, especially online, who take this time of year very personally and feel the need to remind Christians that we are, indeed, participating in a pagan holiday. This can be very confusing for some…
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07Dec 2022 by Post

An Atheist’s Call To Make Our Case

Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Bob Perry, Christianity, Evangelism Category: Theology and Christian Apologetics, Gospel, Theology and Christian Apologetics, True Horizon
By Bob Perry St. Francis of Assisi may have died 800 years ago, but his influence still looms. He was a man who venerated nature and lived a life of great sacrifice in service to God and his church. But within the Christian ecosystem, he has become most famous for an adage that strikes a chord with anyone who is serious about sharing their faith: Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words. The modern interpretation of Assisi’s exhortation is clear. Our charge is to love people into the kingdom, not argue them there. If you’ve bought into that mindset it may surprise you to learn that it’s not accurate. And it may surprise you even more to learn that it flies in the face of an atheist’s call to…
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11Jul 2022 by Post

Is the Law of First Mention a Proper Biblical Hermeneutic?

Apologetics, Bellator Christi, Bible interpretation, Brian Chilton, Christianity, Gospel, Hermeneutic, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Brian Chilton Recently, Curtis Evelo (Bellator Christi Podcast co-host) told me about a conversation he had with an individual about biblical interpretation. Apparently, the individual held that the wine that Jesus miraculously brought forth out of water in John 4 was merely unfermented grape juice. When asked why he held this view, he contended that to hold that the wine held fermented content was to argue that Jesus was a sinner because wine is said to be a mocker in Proverbs 20:1. Curtis asked him what this had to do with Jesus’s miraculous transformation of water into wine. The unnamed individual then said that he used the law of first mention. According to the law of first mention, the interpreter first examines the initial place where the term or…
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06Jul 2022 by Post

Daniel Prophesied the Timing Of The Messiah

Apologetics, christian, Daniel, Erik Manning, Gospel, Jesus diety, Kingdom of God, Prophecy, Theology and Christian Apologetics, video
By Erik Manning How did Jesus see himself? As we learn about Jesus’ Jewish context in the first century, we find that he made some staggering claims. First of all, Jesus spoke constantly about God’s kingdom. The phrase kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven appears more than 100 times in the Gospels. Jesus begins his ministry in Mark by saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near.” (Mark 1:15) Okay, so what’s the big deal about that? And what does Jesus mean when he says the kingdom of God is “near”? Jesus was assuming that his audience would pick up on the ideas he was laying down. When a first century Jew heard the phrase “the kingdom of God,” their minds likely turned to a…
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22Jun 2022 by Post

Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation? An Analysis of the Warning Passages in Hebrews

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, Jonathan McLatchie, salvation, soteriology, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
A significant point of contention in regard to the book of Hebrews is whether a genuine believer can lose their salvation, or whether falling away from the faith merely evidences the fact that one had never truly come to share in Christ. At the center of this controversy are the warning passages, which are found in Hebrews 2:1-4, 3:7-4:13, 5:11-6:12, 10:19-39, and 12:14-29. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the Biblical evidence on whether a professing Christian who walks away from the faith forfeits their salvation, with a particular focus on the book of Hebrews. A fundamental principle of Biblical hermeneutics is that the unclear passages should always be interpreted in light of clearer texts. This follows from the premise that the Biblical texts, being divinely inspired, though…
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